When Kenma returned to the Seireitei again, the entourage behind him was considerably larger than when he had left.
Besides the original Shisui, Yashiro, and the others, four more people had been added.
These four were all elites of the Uchiha clan selected by Fugaku. They possessed the three-tomoe Sharingan and had excellent aptitude. Whether it was in spiritual pressure, or Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Hoho, and Kidō, they were already at the level of a low-ranking seated officer.
They were usable.
Kenma didn't return directly to the Shihoin estate, but instead went to the Squad 2 barracks on the hill to assign these four men to the Patrol Corps under his command.
The Patrol Corps, as the name suggested, was the unit responsible for patrolling and guarding the interior of the Seireitei.
Kenma was now the captain of this unit, and through it, he could grasp the movements of most of the Shinigami within the Seireitei.
When he returned to the barracks, he happened to see Ōmaeda Marechiyo buried in his work in the office.
"Vice-Captain Ōmaeda, where is Yoruichi?"
Kenma briefly looked around the barracks but did not see his lively and active fiancée.
According to the duty roster, today was not the captain's day off.
Seeing Kenma's return, a broad smile immediately spread across Ōmaeda Marechiyo's wide face.
"Oh, Lord Kenma, you're back."
"The captain is at the Shihoin estate. She should be waiting for you to return, Lord Kenma."
Marechiyo's gaze swept over Shisui behind Kenma, and he also smiled. "Shisui, long time no see. It seems this trip to the World of the Living has benefited you greatly. This is truly a joyous occasion."
The Ōmaeda family were vassals of the Shihoin clan. Marechiyo was incredibly polite to Kenma, the son-in-law of the main family.
His attitude towards Shisui, Kenma's confidant, was also much better.
Shisui was very grateful to the man who had provided the Uchiha with their current clan grounds.
Hearing his words, Shisui's face showed a look of emotion. "Yes, under Lord Kenma's guidance, my eyes have truly been opened, and I have benefited greatly."
"Haha, that's good. Lord Kenma is the most outstanding Shinigami. You are the person Lord Kenma has taken a fancy to, and you are always by his side. You must learn more from Lord Kenma."
As Ōmaeda Marechiyo spoke, he also rather obviously praised Kenma.
Looking at the serious and stern expression on Kenma's face, Marechiyo couldn't tell if he was in a good or bad mood. He sighed inwardly and quickly tried to cover for Captain Yoruichi.
"Lord Kenma, the captain has been very worried about you these past few days since she knew you went to the World of the Living. She hasn't even been in the right state of mind for her daily work, moping around all day. It's clear that in the captain's heart, she still cares a great deal for you, Lord Kenma."
'Worried about me?'
Kenma scoffed inwardly. 'She was probably worried about those two followers of hers.'
'With Yoruichi's dislike for me, she's probably hoping for my misfortune at every moment.'
Kenma could see that Ōmaeda Marechiyo was trying to mend the rift between him and Yoruichi, so he didn't say much more.
"If that's the case, I'll go home and have a look."
Kenma looked at the pile of documents on Marechiyo's desk. It was stacked so high it almost reached the ceiling beams.
'So, these past few days, Yoruichi really hasn't done any work at all, dumping it all on Vice-Captain Ōmaeda!'
'No wonder Ōmaeda would say such things about Yoruichi. He must have some resentment in his heart.'
"You've worked hard, Vice-Captain Ōmaeda. When my leave ends tomorrow, I will come and help you with the work."
Hearing this, the smile on Marechiyo's face became even more genuine.
'So responsible, and so humble. No wonder the old captain chose him to be his son-in-law.'
After leaving the Squad 2 barracks, only Shisui remained by Kenma's side.
Yashiro and the others had all been left in Squad 2, allowing him to have a firmer grip on the small unit under his command.
Now that he was a third-rank spiritual power, in the entire Seireitei, with the exception of a few outliers like Aizen and Yamamoto, there was really no one who was a match for him.
On the way back to the Shihoin estate, Shisui suddenly asked, "You seem to hold this vice-captain in high regard, my lord. Does he have some extraordinary qualities?"
"Shisui, you mustn't underestimate Vice-Captain Ōmaeda. He is very strong."
Kenma recalled what he had learned these past few days and explained to Shisui:
"In the entire Squad 2, this vice-captain is the most outstanding. He is very skilled in Kidō and Shunpo."
"And as far as I know, his Shunpo can be called the best, far surpassing mine. Even Yoruichi can't match his speed."
Kenma did admire this vice-captain.
After all, in the entire Squad 2, only he and Vice-Captain Ōmaeda were the extremely rare normal people.
A look of astonishment appeared on Shisui's face, finding it hard to believe.
"Even stronger than you, my lord!"
"There is always a heaven beyond the heavens, and a person beyond the person. There will always be people stronger than oneself."
Kenma, on the other hand, didn't find it strange at all.
Glancing at Shisui behind him, Kenma encouraged him, "But in my opinion, Shisui, your aptitude is even greater. You definitely have the talent to surpass him. It's not impossible for you to even become the 'Flash God' of the Seireitei."
Hearing Kenma's words, Shisui was immediately encouraged.
"Yes, my lord. I will not disappoint you."
Kenma nodded, very satisfied with Shisui's attitude.
When Kenma and Shisui returned to the Shihoin estate, they saw two figures sitting on the steps of the gate before they even got close.
One large and one small, both with their hands propping up their cheeks, looking ahead with boredom.
The larger one had dark brown skin, short purple hair, delicate features, and was wearing a captain's haori.
It was Shihoin Yoruichi.
And the smaller one was just a child of seven or eight, of indeterminate gender, but his delicate features were almost identical to Yoruichi's, as if they had been carved from the same mold.
Kenma naturally recognized him as Yoruichi's younger brother, Shihoin Yūshirō.
The attendants on both sides of the gate were clearly at a loss. They dared not persuade her, nor could they, and could only let the great head of the family, Yoruichi, sit there.
Seeing the siblings sitting idly at the gate, Kenma couldn't help but frown.
"Yoruichi, Yūshirō, what are you doing sitting at the gate?"
'Sigh, the great head of the Shihoin clan, to be so careless about her face and the dignity of the Shihoin clan...'
Kenma sighed inwardly. 'No wonder the old clan head was so worried about Yoruichi. It really wasn't without reason.'
'If Yoruichi had even a little bit of sense, she wouldn't be so completely clueless.'
Hearing the familiar voice, Yoruichi and Yūshirō jolted and looked in the direction of the sound.
"Kenma, you're finally back! I've been waiting for you for days."
Yoruichi stood up abruptly and walked quickly towards Kenma.
Yūshirō looked a little shy. Seeing Kenma's figure, he immediately hid behind his sister.
His small hand gripped Yoruichi's haori tightly, only half of his head peeking out as he gave a timid greeting.
"B-Brother..."
Kenma nodded slightly in response.
His gaze fell on Yoruichi's delicate face. Even her dark brown skin couldn't hide her beauty, but rather added a unique temperament to her.
However, Kenma didn't pay too much attention to this aspect, but rather carefully observed Yoruichi's micro-expressions, trying to guess her thoughts.
"You were waiting for me?"
"In that case... it seems you've made up your mind."
Seeing Kenma being so direct, Yoruichi didn't beat around the bush either. She nodded heavily and said, "That's right. I've lost this time. Please let Suì-Fēng and Kisuke go."
"As long as you let them go, I will agree to whatever you want me to do."
Just as her father had warned her, Yoruichi had also thought a lot these past few days.
But in the end, she found that besides surrendering to Kenma, she had no other choice.
She absolutely could not stand by and watch Suì-Fēng and Kisuke be locked in a cell and tortured for the rest of their lives.
Kenma looked left and right, then said to Yoruichi, "Let's go inside first, and we can talk in detail."
'A private deal like this is clearly against the law and discipline. How can it be discussed in public!'
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